A couple were attacked by a herd of cows as they took their dog an a quiet afternoon walk.

Denis Askew, 51, was strolling with his wife Julie near Fenny Drayton on Sunday morning when they were suddenly surrounded by the cows.

One knocked him to the ground twice and stamped on him, leaving him with a dislocated shoulder and several cuts and bruises to his ankle, thigh and arm.

The terrifying scene unfolded moments after they had entered the field on their mid-morning stroll between Fenny Drayton and Witherley.

By the time they had gone along one third of the path in the field, Denis noticed that the 30 or 40 cows had begun to surround them and become aggressive by snorting, baying, tossing their heads and stamping their hooves.

Denis and Julie, from Nuneaton, began to turn around but a cow started to run at them from behind.

He said: “About seven or eight seconds after we had turned around, a particularly large cow started to run from behind and past my left hand side. As it passed it jumped its hind quarters off the ground and slammed in to me.

“I fell to the ground and quickly, though winded, scrambled to my feet. What I believe to be the same cow then repeated the same action, and while on the floor what I think was a second animal stood on my left leg.

“The whole scenario became nightmarish as I was butted and trampled and it appeared that the entire herd was becoming frenzied.”

Julie was jostled a bit and had a few bruises and was shaken by the experience.

It is believed that their dog, Hazel, had spooked the cows because the moment Denis let go of the lead, she sped off and the cows started to chase her.

Denis claims until that point they had not taken the dog off the lead and hadn’t done anything to aggravate the cattle.

They made their way towards a gate which Julie was able to climb over, but Denis couldn’t get over the fence so had to crawl underneath it to get out.

They drove to George Eliot Hospital where Denis was treated for his injuries.

“It was intimidating,” he added. “When I got knocked over it was more panic than thought. The thought going through my head was to get up.

“The second blow was harder. There was a lot of adrenaline going through me. A lot of pain and shock from the injuries but at the time the adrenaline takes over you don’t appreciate the extent of the injuries.”